Freedom Festival

“Freedom” is a word that gets used pretty fast and loose in this country—often to idealize and justify absolutely antithetical policy and politics. But when it comes to the physical liberation of human beings from their captors, no other word will do.

The Freedom Festival is a celebration of diverse global freedom movements but takes the occasion of Juneteenth—the commemoration of the abolition of slavery in the United States—as its focal point. Held on the new community stage in Troy’s Freedom Square—a public space across the street from the Sanctuary for Independent Media—the festival will feature a variety of events and workshops but will culminate in performances by Taina Asili y la Banda Rebelde (pictured) and M.A.K.U. Sound System, an Afro-Columbian band based out of NYC dealing in jazz, hip-hop, punk and Columbian folk music.

The Freedom Festival will be held in Freedom Square (6th Avenue, North Troy) on Saturday at 3 PM. Admission is free. Call 272-2390 for more info.